Friday, March 30, 2012

Beer of the Week (Vol. CXL)

Another edition of Beer of the Week sponsored as always by the weighty folks at Glen Lake Wine & Spirits who can help you find the wine, whiskey, and beer to the scales in your favor.

Jacob Leinenkugel’s Brewery in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin has long been regarded as somewhere in between a local craft brewer a national marco brand. Their Honey Weiss and Red, although tepid brews by craft standards, were for a time some of the few alternatives to Bud, Miller, and Coors available on local taps. While I don’t mind their Summer Shandy and particularly enjoy Leinie’s Sunset Wheat, they have usually had one toe in the craft pond at best when it came to the new offerings released in recent years.

All that changed last year with the advent of the limited Big Eddy series of beers. The first Big Eddy was Russian imperial Stout which was released last year. This month, the second beer in the line hit store shelves with Big Eddy Wee Heavy Scotch Ale:

Our Big Eddy Wee Heavy Scotch Ale is a tip of the cap to the brewers of Scotland. A blend of eight robust malts give Wee Heavy its complex flavor which is balanced by notes of dark chocolate, toffee and caramel.

12oz brown bottle. A four pack sells for $10.99. Classic looking paper brown and royal blue label with a sparse but sharp look.

STYLE: Scotch Ale

ALCOHOL BY VOLUME: 9.5%

COLOR (0-2): Amber brown. 2

AROMA (0-2): Heavy sweet malts with noticeable alcohol. 1

HEAD (0-2): Tan color, not much volume, but what’s there is quite thick and foamy. Decent lacing. 2

TASTE (0-5): Overwhelming malty which mostly comes through as bready, sweet, and a little syrupy. I don’t really pick up the chocolate, toffee, or caramel. The heat is quite apparent and tends to wash out the more subtle flavors. Thicker mouthfeel with a heavy body. Definitely one that you want to work at a slower pace. 3

AFTERTASTE (0-2): Flavors come through strong and linger. 2

OVERALL (0-6): Big Eddy Wee Heavy Scotch Ale is a quality beer and a hits a higher standard than most of Leinie’s other beers. It’s flavors come out more and it loses some of its harshness as it warms so you don’t want to drink this straight out of the fridge. The alcohol and malty sweetness is a wee bit heavier than I’d prefer, but it’s still a good choice for a beer to kick back with and sip and savor. 4